Category Archives: diabetes

Already shown to improve patient outcomes, innovative diabetes clinic is also cost effective for the clinic, health system and payer —

Diabetes cost the U.S. an estimated $245 billion in 2012, in direct medical costs and reduced productivity. Health care providers are facing increasing pressure to achieve better patient outcomes at a lower cost. To help address these issues, researchers at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego are running a Diabetes Intensive Medical Management (DIMM) “tune up” clinic for complex type 2 diabetes patients at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. In a study published in the March 2017 issue of the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, the researchers report the clinic’s economic benefits, which include an estimated cost avoidance of $5,287 per DIMM clinic patient over three years. …Read the Full Story from the UC San Diego Newsroom

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified a previously unknown mechanism that helps fortify the structure and tight junctions between epithelial cells — a basic cell type that lines various body cavities and organs throughout the body, forming a protective barrier against toxins, pathogens and inflammatory triggers. Breaches of this barrier can provoke organ dysfunction and development of tumors.

By removing the protein galectin-3 (Gal3), a team of investigators led by University of California School of Medicine researchers were able to reverse diabetic insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in mouse models of obesity and diabetes. … Read the Full Story from the UC San Diego Newsroom

A diabetes medication described in some studies as an effective treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) works no better than a placebo, report researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, after conducting the first randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial of sitagliptin, an oral antihyperglycemic marketed by Merck & Co. under the name Januvia.

Writing in the Journal of Hepatology, a multidisciplinary team headed by study senior author Rohit Loomba, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and director of the NAFLD Translational Research Unit at UC San Diego School of Medicine … Read the full story from the UC San Diego Newsroom

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have launched a new four-year, $3.7 million multidisciplinary research center to investigate the relationship between sedentary behavior and cardiovascular risk factors in Latinas, who have a disproportionately higher chance of developing heart disease than the general population.

In patients with breast cancer, a short overnight fast of less than 13 hours was associated with a statistically significant, 36 percent higher risk of breast cancer recurrence and a non-significant, 21 percent higher probability of death from the disease compared to patients who fasted 13 or more hours per night, report University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers.

New structure will be campus hub for advancing basic science to clinical applications —

Rising above Interstate 5 on the east campus of UC San Diego, the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute Building (ACTRI) officially opened its doors Friday in a ribbon-cutting ceremony under blue skies.

The new seven-story building of steel, glass and grooved concrete is home to the Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTRI) at UC San Diego, established in 2010 as part of a national consortium of 60 medical research institutions created to energize bench-to-bedside efforts. … Read the Full Story from the UC San Diego Newsroom

Stunning structure will house array of scientists and centers dedicated to speeding basic research into new treatments and therapies —

Rising above Interstate 5 on the east campus of University of California, San Diego, the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute Building (ACTRI), a five-sided polygon of glass, steel and grooved concrete, officially opens its doors March 4 in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Department of Medicine endocrinologists Steven V. Edelman, MD, (left) and Robert R. Henry, MD (below right), collaborate with Candis Morello, Pharm D, and students in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences to offer a six-month Diabetes Intensive Medical Management (DIMM) “tune up” clinic for patients with complex cases of diabetes at the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

Dr. Robert Henry

At each visit, a patient receives an hour of personalized attention to medication management, diet, exercise, controlling blood sugar levels and other necessities that may be involved in a complex case of diabetes.

The aim is to achieve glycemic control within the six-month period of the “tune up” clinic..

Steven V. Edelman, MD, Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine, directs the Diabetes Care Clinic at VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) and is an investigator in the VA Center for Metabolic Research. He is founder and director of Taking Control of Your Diabetes, a non-profit diabetes education organization. He conducts research focusing on developing and evaluating new treatments for type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Robert R. Henry, MD, Professor in the Department of Medicine, is Chief of the VA Center for Metabolic Research and Chief of the Section of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes at VASDHS. In his research, he investigates the etiology, treatment, and prevention of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Morello is Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Associate Dean for Student Affairs at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The study report was published online in November, 2015, and in print in January, 2016.

Program teaches medical professionals how to address obstacles to care, such as isolation and homelessness —

Reams of medical books and guidelines exist on how to manage a patient’s diabetes, but much of that goes out the window when your patient is a 70-year-old homeless man eating out of a trashcan.

“There’s no point in simply giving this patient insulin and telling him to get on a restricted diet,” said Dr. Diane Chau, associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and a physician at Veteran Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. “We need to intervene in a broader, more comprehensive way.” … Read the full story from the UC San Diego Newsroom